'Sukarno opposed to national chauvinism'

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's first president Sukarno was a humanist who developed nationalism based on human equality, a political observer said.

Speaking in a seminar held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding father here, Cornelis Lay of Gadjah Mada University said that many of Sukarno's writings and speeches underscored humanism and opposed any form of discrimination.

Cornelis said that Sukarno was fully aware that nationalism could easily swing toward chauvinism.

"Therefore Sukarno often warned nationalists that nationalism was not excessive national pride, which could lead to arrogance," Cornelis, who also heads the political bureau at the vice presidential secretariat, said.

Sukarno's warning appeared in his article titled "Nationalism, Islamism, and Marxism" published in Suluh Indonesia Muda daily in 1926. In that article, Sukarno described the danger of chauvinism as a latent threat to nationalist ideology.

Also in the same piece, Sukarno credited his nationalistic thought to three prominent sources: western humanism, eastern humanism, and Islamic humanism.

According to Sukarno, the struggle to uphold nationalism should be pursued through peaceful means as exemplified by Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi in his fight against the British colonialists in India.

Cornelis also said that nationalism could be an appropriate ideology to deal with the country's current political and economic woes. He concluded that nationalism must be expressed and applied wisely and appropriately.

"Sukarno's spirit of nationalism may remind us of the country's haplessness vis a vis the global economy, which could destroy underdeveloped or poor countries," he said.

The one-day seminar was organized by the Family of Gadjah Mada University Alumni (Kagama) at the university campus.

Bung Karno, as Sukarno was popularly called, was born in Bali, on June 6 a century ago. A Yogyakarta morning daily is currently publishing a series of stories on Sukarno, including his ideology, on its front page.

Despite his appreciation of Sukarno, Cornelis warned Sukarno's supporters against creating a cult of the former president.

"Critical studies on Sukarno's teachings are always needed so as not to let his supporters make a cult out of him, a move which would just kill him and his ideas," he said. (44)